Report: Democrats Scramble to Move Obama Speech to Smaller Venue

Democrats apparently are seeking to avoid the possible embarrassment of President Barack Obama accepting the party’s nomination in a partially empty stadium by moving his speech to a smaller indoor arena and citing inclement weather.

The president’s speech is set for Thursday at the 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. But officials have been working hard to fill it, the London Daily Mail reports.

Buses carrying students throughout North Carolina – and even some members of black churches in South Carolina – are scheduled, the Daily Mail reports.

It now appears that the speech will be moved to Time Warner Cable Arena, seats slightly more than 20,000. And it’s not because of fear that empty seats in the huge stadium might illustrate how Obama’s 2008 campaign of “hope” has morphed into an arduous re-election struggle four years later.

“We do have a contingency plan, though, for lightning or other severe weather,” a Democratic Party official told the Daily Mail on Tuesday afternoon. “We don't want to put anyone in harm's way, so that's really what we're looking for, not if it's going to rain but if it's going to be really bad.”

This was part of the caveat the official gave in declaring that Obama’s speech would be held at the stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, on Thursday “rain or shine.”

He continued: “The reason that we're not releasing the details on what a move to the arena would mean until that decision is made [is because] we don't want a lot of conflicting information out there.

“But once that decision is made – if the decision is made – to move, we will make sure all of the details and we want to make sure all of our supporters know exactly what is happening if it changes.”

Another party official told the Daily Mail that the stadium site was being reviewed “on an ongoing basis, and we’ll keep you informed on any decision.”

But the Daily Mail reports that other DNC officials said the “contingency plan” was at an advanced stage and that a move to the smaller venue appears certain.

“It looks like a done deal to me,” said one convention worker. “The decision’s apparently been taken – and it’s just a matter of spinning it as being forced on us by the weather.”

DNC officials said convention delegates, party volunteers and Democratic officials would comprise about a third of the crowd at the Bank of America stadium. They would total about 65,000 people, the Daily Mail reports.